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Trailer Park Boys

Two Halifax entrepreneurs are hoping to raise money for charity by tapping into the popularity of the Trailer Park Boys TV series and the Hobo With A Shotgun feature film.

Bob Chiasson and Scott Owen have both worked in film and TV for more than 20 years, Chiasson as a props master and Owen as an actor. Although their areas of expertise within the industry may differ, they both share a passion for collectables. This past October the two movie industry veterans turned their knack for finding unique items into a business venture called the Monkeys Paw Curio Shop.

Their store is located in the Plan B Merchants Co-op in the North End of Halifax and is jammed with an eclectic mix of antique and vintage items, many of which have been used in film and TV productions. With the holiday season approaching, Chiasson and Owen wanted to raise money for a local charity so they turned to the local film and TV production community.

“Christmas Daddies helps under-privileged children in Atlantic Canada so selling items that were used in local productions was a perfect way for us to give back to the community” says Owen. “If we can help make Christmas more memorable for even one child, we’ll consider this initiative a success.”

The items being offered include screen used props from the Trailer Park Boys TV series and a Santa suit donated by actor John Dunsworth (aka Mr. Lahey) which was featured in both Hobo With A Shotgun and Trailer Park Boys as well as numerous other film and TV productions.

Chiasson has sold numerous movie props on eBay so he’s optimistic that these items will be very popular. “I think that offering one-of-a-kind props from these locally produced shows to fans across the country is a great way to help out” said Chiasson. “This is one situation where it’s really a win-win-win situation for the charity, for us, and for the auction winners.”

To publicize the auction, Chiasson and Owen enlisted the help of Halifax-based Tell Tale Productions and RPM Productions to produce a video featuring John Dunsworth and Santa. The video can be seen on You Tube at: www.youtube.com/user/telltaleinc

The auction runs for one week and will end on Sunday December 4th at 3 PM AST. The items can be viewed on eBay at: http://myworld.ebay.com/planbhfx/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

Beginning today, television enthusiasts will have access to a collection of bold original content from Showcase for purchase and download on the iTunes Store in Canada (www.itunes.ca), including fan favourites Trailer Park Boys, Kenny vs. Spenny and the gaming comedy Pure Pwnage.

The content on iTunes complements the array of digital platforms currently available for Showcase’s original Canadian series. In addition to the channel’s website Showcase.ca, iTunes provides another opportunity for viewers to catch up on missed episodes, purchase broadcast episodes, pre-order upcoming episodes, download entire seasons of their favourite series, and access exclusive free content.

“Making programs available on iTunes is an extremely important step for Showcase, allowing us to extend our wealth of much-loved, high-quality original series to an even broader audience who wish to access this content on their own terms,” says Paul Burns, VP, Digital Media, Canwest Broadcasting. “We always strive to find new ways to engage Canadian viewers through multiple platforms and availability on iTunes is an exciting move forward in that direction.”

Showcase series are available for purchase in both Standard Definition and High Definition, and iTunes customers can purchase a Season Pass, which allows fans to buy an entire season of currently airing programming at a discounted price. With a Season Pass, episodes are automatically downloaded when they become available the day after television broadcast.

As of today, iTunes customers in Canada can start enjoying a variety of award-winning, critically-acclaimed dramatic and comedic Showcase originals, including:

OK everybody, I know that now the movie has come out you don’t feel the need to watch us anymore, but just think about it for a second, and imagine what it is that makes you proud to be Canadian. Now, especially for us who have spent any time living in other countries, I think we forget that being Canadian is not just about watching the good ol’ hockey game or knowing the words to Stompin’ Tom songs, its actually about making fun of ourselves and making sure that everybody has a leg up – that the denizens of the trailer park can still have a place in our society, that our rum n’ cokes will never spill out, and that there will always be another economic opportunity waiting for us to make our humble lifestyle into something a bit more flashy.

Now, if I personally had nothing better to worry about than winterizing my car or finding a way to spend the colder months in jail, how much better off would I be?? Obviously, the Boys are not role models for the youth of canad, but they certainly represent the freedom and the glory and the strength that our great anthem sings about – The True North Strong and Free!! Maybe we should stop thinking about which suburb we want to buy our homes in and just tune out to that American dream of two cars, big screen tvs, and holidays in the Carribbean. Can’t we already afford our rum n’ coke and don’t we already know how to follow the puck around on a dim and fuzzy tv-set??